TRUMBULL COUNTY Raising a family in Niles is all it's quacked up to be

A local Speedway has a dozen eggs, but they're not for sale.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Things in downtown Niles are just ducky these days.
Literally.
As cars, trucks and vans pass by at all hours of the day and night, a female mallard keeps her vigil at the Speedway gas station at Federal Street and Vienna Avenue. Nestled among the bags of mulch, the duck sits, oblivious to all who pass. She stays calm and quiet, unless she senses someone is after her treasure: a nest of 12 eggs waiting to hatch.
"If you get too close, you'll see her feathers ruffle and her wings start to come up," said Debi Pezzulo, a manager of Speedway.
Building the nest
Mama Duck pulled pieces of mulch from the bags and mixed them with feathers to build a nest for the eggs. Most of the time, the brown and tan bird lies on top of the eggs, resting her head on a mulch bag -- but keeping her eyes open for any signs of danger.
Employees are unsure when she built the nest, but Pezzulo said clerk Shayla Winans discovered it last weekend when she was arranging the bags on wooden pallets near the roadway. Other employees had seen ducks wandering around the parking lot a few weeks before, Pezzulo said, but thought nothing of it.
Once Winans found the nest, however, she built up a few of the mulch bags to make a wall to protect Mama Duck from the wind and passers-by, Pezzulo said.
"When someone wants to buy mulch, they usually come in and tell a clerk, so we've just been telling them to get it from the other side so they don't disturb her," she said.
Animal Welfare called
Pezzulo said that after employees contacted the Animal Welfare League, they decided to let Mama Duck stay where she is, and will help her and the babies to safety once they are ready to go.
"The police said to let them know when they are ready, and they will walk them down to the creek," Pezzulo said.
It's the second time in two weeks a mother duck found the downtown area appealing for her and her babies.
Another family
Niles traffic officer Shawn Crank and officer Dennis Laskay took time last week to help another mallard family make its way safely to a creek.
"There was a mother and her ducklings wandering in the parking lot behind Kuszmaul's Pharmacy," Crank said. "We got the traffic stopped, and Denny shooed them across the street."
The mother, followed by about 10 ducklings, made it safely across East State Street and into a wooded area that leads down to the creek, Crank said.
slshaulis@vindy.com